No Way, Norway?

Monday, 1 October 2007

You’d think that once one of your countrymen (or in this case
woman) has conquered the best the USA and Europe could throw at
them to win £1m and a place in poker history that the Norwegians
would be a bit more enthusiastic about their poker, wouldn’

You’d think that once one of your countrymen (or in this case
woman) has conquered the best the USA and Europe could throw at
them to win £1m and a place in poker history that the Norwegians
would be a bit more enthusiastic about their poker, wouldn’t you?
Well, most of them are nuts about the game anyway, but it seems
that Culture Minister Trond Giske is not convinced. Worried about
the potential of the nation turning into a bunch of degenerate
gamblers, Giske is considering tabling a bill very similar to the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act which President Bush
passed in the USA.
Online poker has been contentious across Scandinavia. Denmark
recently won a landmark case decreeing poker to be a game of skill,
whilst over in Sweden there has been a clampdown on illegal poker
activity.
The Culture Minister has previously attempted to have slot machines
banned, a measure which failed but did see slot machines become
‘less aggressive’ (which means they just take your money more
slowly, as far as we can tell).
His focus has now turned to poker, which has perplexed some
considering how obviously talented the young generation of
Scandinavians are. If they are really that worried about the long
term risk of gambling, maybe they should just teach them where the
Fold button is?